Robert Altman’s “3 Women”
has been referred to as his tribute to the films of Ingmar Bergman. It
appropriates Bergman’s style of connecting two characters in the intimate webs
of each other in the same way as films like “Persona”. Altman’s take is
distinctly American, with its California desert location and its testosterone-driven
male supporting characters. This meshing of geographical styles results in a
David Lynchian feel to the material, along the lines of “Mulholland Dr.” It
embraces trace horror elements that can also be found in both Bergman and
Lynch’s works. It is one of the more unique films from this director/auteur
that is a step away from his normal fare and yet somehow still distinctly
Altman-esque.

So I read an interview with
Richard Dreyfuss the other day in which he questioned the interviewer’s use of
the term “the new golden age of television”, referring to the current
renaissance happening on television today. (Read the Indiewire article here.)
Dreyfuss claimed that the only Golden Age of television was in the early 50s
when it was the new form of entertainment in everyone’s household. While I agree
that perhaps a new term other than “Golden Age” might be in order to describe
an era 70 years down the line, I’m not so sure Dreyfuss quite understands what
the interviewer was talking about, because he went on to describe the current
television market of consisting only of police procedurals, courtroom dramas
and family sitcoms. I suddenly realized that Dreyfuss’ television provider only
carries CBS, ion and Nick at Nite.

I’ve always been of the
belief that expectation is an enemy of art. It closes off the mind to
possibilities the artist may have envisioned that the viewer may not if they’re
anticipating something else. As such, I’ve become pretty good at turning off
the grand expectations movie studios are so insistent on instilling in their
audiences through trailers and the buzz movie media outlets provide before a
movie’s release. It’s not that I don’t pay attention to these things, because I
am a fan first and a critic second; but once I’m there in the dark awaiting the
start of a movie I let it all go and simply take in the movie.

That being said, I’d like to
talk about the expectations behind the new science fiction movie “Chappie” a
little before I delve into my expectationless opinion of it. This is the third
movie by South African sci-fi wunderkind Neill Blomkamp. His debut film
“District 9” was a summer sleeper hit and a rare science fiction Best Picture
Oscar nominee. His follow-up “Elysium” was not as special—although I felt it
was enjoyable—and recently Blomkamp has revealed some disappointments he had
with that project.

I’ll admit it. Even being
the cineaste I am, there are some gaping holes in my cinematic experience.
Jean-Luc Godard is one of them. I’m not completely unknowledgeable. I’ve seen
“Breathless” and his strange and somewhat annoying version of science fiction
“Alphaville”. I fear I reveal myself by declaring “Alphaville” annoying, but at
times it is surely trying to be. So this will be a rather inexperienced look at
a man who is seen as one of the masters of cinema.

I recently decided to start
a vinyl record collection. It all came about from an article (that has since
been lost in the vastness of the web) about collecting music. I was an avid
music collector throughout high school and college. I collected cassettes and
then reluctantly moved on to CDs as they were beginning to change the music
soundscape. I remember the debates about analog and digital recording and
mastering. Who remembers when CDs would sport a letter code of three letters
consisting of ‘A’ and ‘D’ to distinguish which part of the production process
was done analog or digitally? ADD, or DDD or different variations of such.

What does it mean that I can’t
even figure out which collection the first film in my Criterion Thoughts series
comes from? Criterion Thoughts will feature films from the premiere DVD and
BluRay series of films released under the Criterion Collection banner. This
first film comes from their films featured on Hulu Plus and certainly seems to
fit well into the Criterion Collection. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which
collection you need to buy to get it. I’m guessing it was featured in one of
their Eclipse Series.

“21 Days” was released in
the U.S. as “21 Days Together” after sitting on the shelf for 2 years until
star Vivian Leigh’s popularity exploded due to her success as Scarlett O’Hara
in “Gone With the Wind”. It also features one of the earliest collaborations
between the husband and wife acting team of Laurence Olivier and Leigh. In
fact, this British film is filled with elite pedigree of the early British film
scene. The film also stars the fine character actor Leslie Banks as the third
lead. It was Basil Dean’s final directorial effort after 15 films beginning
with 1929’s “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”. Dean would continue to produce
films for another decade. Dean co-wrote the screenplay with Graham Greene,
perhaps the greatest British crime writer of all time.

Sunday, March 01, 2015

When I was about six-years-old
our family adopted a new dog named Blue. Blue’s previous owner seemed a strange
man. He claimed blue was the dog’s favorite color and that “Star Trek” was his
favorite show. I don’t believe I’d ever heard of a dog having a favorite
television show before. In fact, dogs hardly seem to even notice the TV in my
experience. But hey! We were open-minded people. On his first night with us,
Blue was a nervous wreck, so at 7 p.m., when syndicated shows began in our
area, we turned the TV to “Star Trek” to see if the dog responded. The dog didn’t
even notice the television was on, but “Star Trek” somehow became one of the
shows that ended up playing in our house on a regular basis. And no, that dog
never sat down and watched with us.

We were never what would be
described as Trekkies, or Trekkers, as it were. We just kind of watched it if
we happened to stumble upon it while flipping through the channels. I remember
when it switched from early evening syndication to late afternoon. The release
of the first movie was kind of a big deal for my brother and I. We were
disappointed with its slow pace like so many others—although later in life, I
would come to appreciate what Robert Wise was striving to achieve.

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About Me

Andrew D. WellsAndrew is a professionally trained actor and stage director. He was a reporter for the daily newspaper The Marshall Democrat-News. He has been critiquing film since Mr. Lucas released the first of his "Star Wars" prequels in 1999. His reviews can also be seen atMarshall Democrat-News